Applications of chromatography in life and health sciences

Paper chromatography Has largely been superseded by more sophisticated chromatographic methods in bioanalytical laboratories however this method still remains an important teaching tool to illustrate basic chromatography principles and technique. It still retains value in sample identification using appropriate standards (controls), for example in amino acid analysis. 

Thin-layer chromatography Is commonly employed to determine pigmentation of plants, using extracts of leaves. This method is also used to detect pesticides or insecticides in foods and has been instrumental in analysis of the dye composition of fibres from clothing in forensic investigations. 

Ion-exchange chromatography Has a wide range of uses in the food industry, medicine and life and health sciences. This technique has been extensively used in the food industry as a quality control measure and to detect contamination with metals and organic acids. Another important use of this method is in the purification of blood products such as human albumin, growth factors and enzymes. Perhaps the most common application of this technique is the deionization of water and water softening/purification. 

Affinity chromatography Has a wide number of uses and can be applied to the isolation and purification of virtually all biomolecules. Specific applications include nucleic acid purification, protein purification from cell and tissues extracts, and antibody purification from blood serum. There are a number of matrices used for the construct, and some examples of these and their uses are as follows heparin columns to separate cholesterol lipoproteins, lectin columns to separate carbohydrate groups, and phenyl boronate columns to separate glycated haemoglobins. 

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To outline key applications of chromatography in life and health sciences. 

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